Pumpkin Smoothie for 4 to 6 Weight Watchers Points

I modified this pumpkin smoothie into a pumpkin pie smoothie that has a hint of orange flavoring via the orange juice because it makes so much and the kiddos didn't really like it as written, so I'll include the original and how I modified it.  I added a dollop of whip cream on top for the kiddos too, but at 1 extra point, you may be able to do so on your own as well.

One servings of this smoothie gives you all the vitamin A you need for a day and almost half of your daily requirement of vitamin C!! BONUS! It also serves up 5 grams of protein!

The whole smoothie batch comes out to 24 points, so if you divide it up into 6 servings, each serving is 4 points.  Divide it up into 4 servings, and each serving is therefore 6 points.  Divide it into 2 and each serving is now 12 points.

Ingredients:

1 15-oz. can pumpkin, chilled
1 12-oz. can evaporated milk, chilled
1 cup orange juice, chilled
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 medium banana, cut into chunks (optional as written) (I added banana for body)
Ice cubes (optional, but I added for body)
Ground nutmeg or cinnamon (optional as written)  (I added 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp ground ginger)
Orange wedges (optional as written)


Directions:

Combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, orange juice, brown sugar, and, if desired, banana. Blend until smooth.

If desired, serve smoothies over ice cubes or blend them in and sprinkle each serving with ground nutmeg and garnish with orange wedges threaded onto a skewer.

Serves: 4 - 6
Points: 4 servings=6 points each, 6 servings=4 points each

Nutritional Information:  188 calories, 5 g total fat (3 g saturated), 17 mg cholesterol, 71 mg sodium, 34 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 5 g protein

Breakfast Smoothies for 2 Weight Watchers Points

I've been wanting to try tofu and found a recipe in my smoothie book that contains it for that extra punch of protein.  It's VERY low in points too--BONUS!  Seeing how I bought a bunch of cherries on sale, I Figured this would be the one. The smooth tofu available to me in my local store is a little too smooth/soft I think because even after freezing the cherries it doesn't have a lot of body to it, but the photo in the pamphlet has it looking very thick.  It's good though with the cherry and orange juice being the predominant flavors and doubling it up is only 4 Weight Watchers points!  The good news is I can get the kids to drink it too.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup soymilk or milk (I went with the soy)
3/4 cup orange juice, chilled
3/4 cup frozen unsweetened, pitted dark sweet cherries whole, or strawberries or peach slices
1 medium carrot, cut up and chilled
1/4 cup soft tofu (fresh bean curd)
1 Tbsp. honey (optional)

Directions:

Put all ingredients into the blender EXCEPT the honey and blend until smooth.  Add in 1 tablespoon of optional honey and blend again.  (Putting honey into smoothies atop frozen items can cause it to seize a little and not blend very well.)

Serves:  2
Points: 2 point per serving

Nutritional Information:  124 calories, 3 g total fat (0 saturated), 1 mg cholesterol, 225 mg sodium, 19 g carbohydrates, 4 g fiber, 6 g protein

Tilapia with Balsamic Butter Sauce for 9 Points

Here is another entirely doable Fish recipe due to the addition of Flavor! I pair this with the Broccoli with Brown Butter and Almonds side dish for 3 additional points and actually feel Full.  You could probably shave off a point by substituting a light butter in place of regular, but what's one point?  Just kidding.  I find that the light butter seems to have a higher water content/consistency, so it might thin out the balsamic butter sauce in this one.

I have no idea why this recipe card I picked up from my local grocery store says approximate in parentheses under nutrtional information, but it does.  It seems to come out correctly points wise for me when I Figure out the points for each individual ingredient.  Maybe it depends on  how much of the sauce you take in with the fish.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. minced shallot
1 garlic clove, minced
3 Tbsp. butter
4 (6-oz) tilapia filets
1 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:

For the sauce, combine the vinegar, honey, shallot, and garlic and bring to boiling over medium-high heat in a small sauce pan.  Reduce heat to medium and cook 5 minutes stirring occasionally or until slightly thickened.  Whish in butter 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring each addition until melted.  Remove pan from heat and set aside.

Pat the tilapia fillets dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper to taste.  In a large nonstick skillet heat oil over medium heat 1 minute or until hot.  Add the fillets to hot oil in skillet and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Transfer fillets to a serving platter and drizzle with sauce.  It's ready to serve!

Serves: 4
Points: 9 per serving

Nutritional Information (approximate):  370 calories, 17 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 120 mg cholesterol, 100 mg sodium, 12 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 45 g protein

Broccoli with Brown Butter and Almonds Recipe

Let me start by sharing that I'm not a huge cooked broccoli lover, but THIS recipe is literally so Flavorful, it's mind blowingly delicious. I don't have any light butter on hand to see how swapping it in to replace the regular butter I used would affect the points value, but 3 points is pretty darned good as it is.

When I Figured out the points for this recipe using my slider card, it came out to a total of 19 points for the whole dish.  The recipe card has the nutritional information included on it, and using that is how I come out to 3 points per serving, but when I divide 6 into 19, it actually comes out to just a tad more than 3 points, so I round up personally.  You can do what you like.  I guess I like to err on the side of caution.

Ingredients:

3 cups broccoli florets
1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 small shallot thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. garlic pepper

Directions:

In a large skillet over high heat combine broccoli florets with 1/4 cup water and heat uncovered just until you see steam.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender.  Drain and transfer broccoli to a bowl and set it aside.

Wipe the skillet clean with paper towel and place back on stove over medium heat.  Add butter and heat until the butter melts and just begins to bubble whisking it once or twice.  Stir in the almonds, the shallot, and the garlic pepper.  Cooke just until the butter is light golden brown and begins to have a nutty aroma, and you WILL smell it.  Quickly remove from the heat and DO NOT LET THE BUTTER BURN.

Add the broccoli back into the skillet and toss to coat.  Return the skillet to low heat and cook just until your broccoli is reheated.  Season with salt to taste and serve.

Serves:  6
Points:  4

Nutritional Info:  125 calories, 12 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 25 mg cholesterol, 35 g sodium, 3 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 2 g protein

Spicy Chipotle Turkey Burger for 6 Weight Watchers Points

These turkey burgers are simply the best.  You can kick up the smoky spicy Flavor a notch with the addition of another chipotle pepper if you are really into spicy spicy.  There is nothing bland about this turkey burger, as it's absolutely Full of Flavor with garlic and onion powders and seasoning salt on top of the onion, cilantro and chipotle pepper! Delish!

1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
2 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
1 chipotle chile in adobe sauce, finely chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp Lawry's seasoning salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 slices mozzarella cheese
4 toasted hamburger buns

Preheat your grill (outdoor or griddle indoor) and lightly oil grate.

Combine the ground turkey, onion, cilantro, chipotle chile pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, Lawry's seasoning salt, and black pepper into a bowl and combine well.  Form into four equal patties.

Cook the patties on the grill until the turkey is no longer pink in the center, about 4 minutes per side.  Place the hamburger buns onto the grill when there is about 2 minutes grilling time left with the insides facing down to lightly brown/toast them.  Place the mozzarella slices on the patties and melt cheese.  Top with tomato and lettuce and condiments if you like.

Asparagus Chicken Fajitas for 6 Weight Watchers Points Each!

Here is a Filling veggie filled Fajita recipe that shakes up the standard sliced peppers version a bit for a nice change and variation. I added some Fajita seasoning from a store-bought packet for a little more Fajita Flavoring.  This recipe makes 6 servings/6 fajitas.

Each Fajita is 6 Weight Watchers points, so have two if points allow!

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
3/4 cup Italian salad dressing
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 pound fresh asparagus trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 medium sweet red pepper, julienned
1 medium sweet yellow pepper, julienned
1/2 c fresh or frozen corn
1/4 c diced onion
2 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp pepper

12 flour 6" tortillas


INSTRUCTIONS:

Place chicken in a large resealable plastic bag and add the Italian salad dressing. Seal up the bag, manipulate the bag and contents to coat the chicken and refrigerate for at least 4 hours turning several times.

Drain and discard the marinade.  In a large, nonstick skillet, saute chicken in oil for 3 minutes.  Add the asparagus, peppers, corn, and onion and cook uncovered for 7 more minutes or until the chicken juices run clear and the vegetables are crisp-tender.  Stir occasionally.  Stir in the lemon juice, garlic salt, and pepper.  Add in some extra fajita seasoning mix if desired.  Spoon 1/2 cup fajita mix onto each tortilla and fold. Done.

I figured the points as follows:

16 oz chicken breast for 16 POINTS

0 POINTS for the asparagus, peppers, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

1 POINT FOR corn

0.25 POINTS for onion
_____________________SUBTOTAL OF 17.25 POINTS=3 POINTS/SVNG

24 POINTS for marinade

4 POINTS for cooking oil

2 POINTS per tortilla
_____________________SUBTOTAL OF 28 POINTS FOR MARINADE PLUS OIL
                                          AND 2 POINTS PER TORTILLA

2 points per tortilla plus 3 points per filling plus 1 point for residual marinade and cooking oil equal 6 points per fajita.

Tailor-Your-Points Creamy Poppyseed and Pine Nut Chicken Salad Recipe Starting at 6 Weight Watchers Points

This is my new Favorite salad, and you can turn it into a wrap as well!  If you are like me and have avoided salads with Fruit in them, then now is the time to stop being that way and to expand your horizons.  Something about Fruit in a salad has just never sat well with me, but I'm challenging myself to try new things, and I am oh so glad I did!  (Yes, I'm the one with picky children and a picky husband to Feed--imagine.)

I've deconstructed the original recipe so you can Figure your points for individual serving sizes, so the points can be more tailored to your needs and Weight Watchers points allowances. Firstly, here is the recipe for making a huge meal salad for a group.

Ingredients:

8 cups torn salad greens (I used Earthbound Farm Organic Baby Lettuces)  0 POINTS
1 medium red pepper sliced 0 POINTS
1/4 c. finely chopped green onions (I probably tripled it because I love green onions) 0 POINTS
2 pkg (6 oz each) of Grilled Chicken Breast Strips, coarsely chopped 12 POINTS
2 cups halved red seedless grapes 2 POINTS
1 pkg 2 oz. toasted pine nuts, approximately 1/3 cup--6 POINTS (*see note below)
3/4 cup Poppyseed salad dressing, (Marzetti's) -- 2 POINTS/TBSP.

This bulk version adds up to be 22 points.  Figure your points per serving by dividing it into the total number of servings you wind up with.

* Note:  1/3 cup of pine nuts is 5-1/3 Tbsp of nuts according to my conversion chart so it therefore comes out to 5-1/3 points because each tablespoon of nuts is equal to 1 point.  The nutrition information on my bag of pine nuts indicates that the 1/4 cup serving size is 4 points, and my conversion chart tells me that there are 4 tablespoons in 1/4 cup, so that is how I come out to 1 point per tablespoon. 

Individual Serving Salad:





Salad greens in the amount you wish for 0 POINTS
Red pepper slices in the amount you wish for 0 POINTS
Green onions in the amount you wish for 0 POINTS
2 oz cubed/diced chicken breast for 1 POINT PER OUNCE=2 POINTS
1/2 c. sliced red grapes for 0.5 POINTS
1 Tbs. toasted pine nuts for 1 POINT
1 Tbs. poppyseed dressing for 2 POINTS or 2 Tbs. for 4 POINTS

As you can see, you can tailor your salad to suit your points allowance.  With 1 tablespoon of dressing, the individual serving salad above would come out to 5.5 points, and with 2 tablespoons of dressing 7.5 points.  If you add more grapes, which are 1 point per cup, or if you use more chicken, which is 1 point per ounce, then adjust your points accordingly.

I haven't tried this meal salad in a wrap form, but you can easily add the appropriate points onto your salad after Figuring them out using the nutrition information from your Favorite wrap wrapper....wrap wrapper. lol

Be careful when toasting your pine nuts, as they cook very quickly at a certain point. I recommend checking after 3 minutes of baking at 350 degrees F and checking every minute thereafter until they have reached a nice golden brown color.

Enjoy! I know I will!